Match-book construction



Jan. 19, 1943. J. R. HAR-TMAN MATCH-BOOK CONSTRUCTION Filed May 11, 1940-2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR, mJHzwfin an l fqym d-W AT ORNEY.

Jan. 19, 1943. J. R. HARTMAN 2,308,509

MATCH-BOOK CONSTRUCTION Filed May ll, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L ATTORNEY.

Ratented Jan. 19, 1943 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to match-boon in general, and it relatesmore particularly to a new and improved matchbook construction providinga match-book which is handy and safe in use, and wherein the matches aregenerally completely enveloped or encased by an outer covering whichprovides ready access to the enclosed matches, and which match-bookaffords a superior advertising medium, andiwhich is yet simple andinexpensive to construct.

Referring to the drawings in which like reference characters indicatelike parts:

Figure 1 represents a corner perspective view of a match-bookconstruction constituting one illustrative embodiment of the presentinven tion.

Figure 2 represents a vertical sectional-view taken on line 2-2 ofFigure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a more or less schematic view showing the inner and outerelements of the matchbook, of the preceding figures prior to folding andassembly of parts.

Figure 4 represents a perspective view showing how the match-book of thepresent invention may be held with the free ends of the cover paneldrawn apart, to facilitate the extraction of -a match therefrom.

Figure 5 represents a perspective view, drawn at regular transverseintervals, as at 9, thereb to provide a series of adjacent match-bodiesill. The, outer end portions of these match-bodies it may be tipped asat ll with any suitable combustible material, preferably of the safetytype, that is to say, of the type which will ignite frictionally onlywhen drawn across a particular selected striking surface.

The outer casing I is constructed from a sheet of flexible materialpreferably of sufllcient stiffness or body to cause it to spring backsubstantially to its original position when deflected and released.Cardboard or relatively stiff paper are illustrativeexamples ofmaterials suitable for use in constructing this outer casing 1.

The outer casing 1 comprises a generally rectangular sheet of materialfolded transversely at its center along the fold-zone l2, therebyproviding a pair of identical opposed cover-panels l3. The basal edgesof the juxtaposed matchcards 6 are disposed in the fold-zone l2.of thisouter casing, and the assembled inner and outer elements 6 and I may befixedly held together by any suitable securement means, as for example,by means of the illustrated metallic staple ll,- whose legs extendthrough the juxtaposed.

cardboard or paper plies, and which serves to press the cover-panels I3more or less closely against the sides of the intermediate matchcards.

The upper transverse marginal portions ll: of the cover-panels l3 areeach permanently folded down along a fold-line l6, preferably disposed aslight distance beyond the match-heads I l, into overlapping relationwith each other and with the underlying match-heads H. The folds iii areoriginally made preferably sharp enough to insure that thedown-foldedend flaps l5 will retain their perpendicular relation totheir respective cover-panels 13 throughout the normal use of thematch-book.

The outer surfaces of the opposed cover-panels I3 are preferably eachprovided with an identical striking-surface I! which may be formed ofany material adapted frictionally to ignite the match heads I I. In theillustrated embodiment, these striking surfaces H are disposed near thelower ends of the cover-panels I3. If desired, one of thesematch-striking surfaces l'l may be omitted,

although in the preferred embodiment two identical surfaces areprovided, .one on either side of the match-book cover so that thematch-book may be used with. either side facing the user.

When it is desired to strike a light, the user need merely move apartthe free ends of the cover-panels l3 only sufficiently to provide accessto the interiorly disposed matches Ill, whereupon one of these matchesmay be readily torn ofi from a match-card 6. These free ends of thecover-panels may be separated in several ways, one of which has beenillustrated in Figure 4. As there illustrated, the thumb and indexfinger of the users one hand may be inserted between the lower portionsof the side panels H3 at opposite edges of the match book, therebyflexing the cover-panels l3 away from each other and separating theoverlapped end-flaps I5 suffi ciently to expose the heads of thematches, thus facilitating the extraction of a match by means of theuser's other hand. It will be noted that during this operation thepermanently down-folded end-flaps l5 retain their substantiallyperpendicular relation to their respective coverpanels l3.

Another manner in which a match can be conveniently extracted from thematch-book of the present invention is to grasp the match-book betweenthe thumb and index finger of one hand,

with the tips of these fingers being superimposed over or generallycovering the opposite sides of the staple-means It at the base of thematch-book, and then wedgingiy insert the thumb and index finger of theother hand between the projecting side edges of the cover-panels l3atone side of the match-book, thereby spreading the panels apartsufiiciently to provide access to the intermediate matches, one of whichmay then be grasped between said thumb and index finger and torn ofl.

In either case, however, as soon as the match has been torn off andextracted, the outwardlyfiexed cover-panels l3 are released by thewithdrawal of one's fingers from therebetween, and if I the cover-panelsl3 are made of material possessing inherent resilience or springinessthey will be thus permitted to spring back into their original positionsin close proximity to the matchcards, thereby bringing the permanentlydownfolded marginal flaps l5 back into overlapping relation with eachother directly over the heads of the remaining matches, thereby againgenerally completely covering said matches.

The match-book is then re-grasped between the thumb and index finger ofthe left hand as illustrated in Figure 5, with said fingers superposedover the opposed cover panels l3, clear of the striking areas l1. Thisnecessarily completely encloses and safely shields the heads ll of theremaining matches during ignition of the extracted match, even in caseswhere the cover panels 13 are not made of material possessing inherentresilience and therefore do not spring back into proximity to thematch-cards when released, for by grasping the match-book in the usersone hand preparatory to striking the match across any one of theigniting surfaces ll,

the cover panels i3 will necessarily be pressed closely against theintermediate match-cards, thus bringing the cover-panel end-flaps i5into overlapping relation over the heads of the remaining matches. Byvirtue of the foregoing, safe and effective coverage of the remainingmatches is achieved without having to separately or independentlymanipulate the match-book cover to close the opening.

Thus, even if the match-book cover panels l3 should be made of somenon-resilient material which would not tend to spring back to itsoriginal position when released and thus not achieve an automaticclosure of the match-book upon extraction of a match therefrom,nevertheless complete and efiective closure of the match-book opening isstill assured merely by the grasping of the match-book preparatory tostriking the extracted match, as illustrated in Figure 5.

The closing of the match-book is thus assured, and the remaining matcheswill be fully and adequately protected against accidental ignition atall times, and without requiring any special act on the part of theuser.

The match-book of the present invention is of symmetrical construction,and presents the same appearance when viewed from either side. Thisfeature is of particular advantage from the standpoint of utility, aswell as from the advertising standpoint. A person using the match-bookof the present invention need not preliminarily turn the match-book toany front position in order to extract or ignite a match, for thematch-book of the present invention has no back side.

Thus, either side of the match-book consti-- a "front" side, because theopposite cover-p. are identical and are both provided with Shir-"s.surfaces.

From an advertising standpoint, the hereinabove-described match-book isof particular advantage, for both the cover-panels it are equallyeffective indisplaying such advertising matter as may be imprintedthereon. Thus, since the match-book has no "back" side, but instead hastwo "front" sides, the messages on either side of the match-book will beobserved by the user with equal frequency, and one side will not be anyless important from an advertising standpoint than the other. Hence, theadvertising effectiveness or eillciency of the match-book is much higherthan that of heretofore known matchbooks wherein the advertisements onthe back sides were at best only infrequently presented.

to the user's view.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout'departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, andit is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to theappended claim rather than to the foregoing description to indicate thescope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is hereby claimed as new anddesired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A match-book adapted for portable use comprising a plurality ofjuxtaposed match-cards each intemiittently slitted upwardly from itsbasal portion to provide a series of adjacent detachable matches havingtheir free ends tipped with combustible material, a single generallyrectangular more or less resilient sheet of cardboard or the like foldedtransversely at its center to provide two opposed cover panels ofgenerally identical appearance and construction, said cover panelsextending around the outside of said match-cards in upwardly-divergingrelationship with the fold-zone of said sheet covering the basal edgesof said match-cards and closely adjacent thereto, an inwardly-extendingflap formed at the upper free end of each of said cover panels, saidflap being formed integrally with its panel and being connected theretoalong a scored fold-line whereby said flap tends to remain more or lesspermanently at generally right angles to its panel, one of said panelsbeing slightly longer than the other whereby the flaps are held infully-overlapping and angle-retaining position when the side panels areurged inwardly, a stripe of match-igniting material adhesively carriedon each of said cover panels adjacent said fold-zone and extendinggenerally parallel thereto, and a metal staple extending through thebasal portions of said cover panels and said match cards and securelyholding them together thereby to urge said side-panels in-z wardly andto hold the flaps in fully-overlapping position, said match-book beingopen at its side ends whereby transverse inward finger pressure upon theopen side ends will cause the side panels to swing open and to spreadthe flaps thereby to expose the matches and to permit removal thereof,said side panels tending to move inwardly into their closed positionwhen the finger pressure is released.

JOHN RAYMOND HAR'IMAN.

